Inclusion in Pleasant Ridge Parks & Recreation
Why Plan for Inclusive Parks?
Pleasant Ridge’s Parks and Recreation can play a crucial role in creating welcoming and inclusive spaces that promote positive physical, social, and mental health outcomes while connecting people to the City’s natural habitats, with a focus on reaching all community members.
Aiming to provide not only physical access but also a culture of inclusivity is essential. This approach ensures that individuals from all backgrounds and abilities feel welcome and can actively participate in recreational activities. Prioritizing accessible facilities accommodates the city’s diverse resident base, including those with mobility challenges and cognitive disabilities. This approach includes designing pathways suitable for individuals with varying motor skills and offering spaces that support the development of fine motor skills, extending inclusivity to everyone, regardless of their physical abilities. Effective communication materials within park spaces further strengthens access and inclusion.
In addition to physical considerations, fostering social-emotional development is key. Outdoor environments should be intentionally designed to encourage emotional expression, support relationship-building, and facilitate positive social interactions. Prioritizing interaction and cooperation provides opportunities for individuals to connect through recreation activities, enhancing essential relationship skills.
Moreover, inclusive, universally designed playgrounds can boost self-confidence by enabling children to interact with others and their surroundings in diverse ways. Creatively designed recreation spaces should also embrace the sensory domain, incorporating the seven senses to cater to varying sensory needs. This approach benefits all visitors, including those with sensory sensitivities. Parks and playgrounds should also thoughtfully consider cognitive development by incorporating features that promote problem-solving and abstract thinking.Pleasant Ridge’s Parks and Recreation can play a crucial role in creating welcoming and inclusive spaces that promote positive physical, social, and mental health outcomes while connecting people to the City’s natural habitats, with a focus on reaching all community members.
How Can Pleasant Ridge Parks and Recreation be more Inclusive?
Universal design is essential for making parks and recreation facilities accessible to individuals of all ages and abilities. While Pleasant Ridge already incorporates many of the following key strategies, the City should consider ways to make facilities more inclusive. Effective implementation of universal design includes several key strategies:Pleasant Ridge’s Parks and Recreation can play a crucial role in creating welcoming and inclusive spaces that promote positive physical, social, and mental health outcomes while connecting people to the City’s natural habitats, with a focus on reaching all community members.
Accessible Access
Some parks lack accessible entry points, with limited pedestrian-friendly entrances and insufficient access from parking lots. Providing curb cuts at park entrances to connect with surrounding neighborhoods ensures that everyone can access these spaces. There are opportunities to improve access routes to amenities like play equipment, sports courts, and fields by installing paved pathways with suitable slopes and widths. Parks such as the Dog Park and Community Center Park have gravel alley entrances that could be paved to increase accessibility. Priority improvements should focus on parks with a ranking under 3.
Shade and Seating
While many parks provide benches and resting spots, there are opportunities to increase accessibility by adding more user-friendly benches and rest areas. Placing seating strategically along trails and pathways would allow people with varying physical abilities to use the paths more comfortably. Ensuring that benches have paved access points and stable foundations is essential for those using mobility devices. Resting spots are often used to reduce physical exertion, so providing shaded benches or seating areas throughout parks is important. Shaded seating, especially near play areas, can help caregivers safely supervise children. One area identified as needing more shade is the Community Center Pool.
Pop-Up Play
Opportunities include life-sized board games or permanent yard games like cornhole, shuffleboard, ping pong, and ladder toss. These games encourage intergenerational play and provide engaging activities for teens and young adults, a group often underserved by typical park features. Installing these games has also been shown to increase the amount of time people spend in the area, which can boost their likelihood of shopping or dining locally. These types of amenities are ideally suited for parks near businesses, such as the parks along Woodward Avenue.
